chauffeur

[shoh-fer, shoh-fur]

noun

1. a person employed to drive a private automobile or limousine for the owner.

2. a person employed to drive a car or limousine that transports paying passengers.

verb (used with object)

1. to drive (a vehicle) as a chauffeur.

2. to transport by car.

   Saturday mornings I have to chauffeur the kids to their music lessons.

verb (used without object)

1. to work as a chauffeur.

   He chauffeured for a time right after the war.

chauffeur

/ ˈʃəʊfə, ʃəʊˈfɜːz, ʃəʊˈfɜː /

noun

1. a person employed to drive a car

verb

1. to act as driver for (a person)

   he chauffeured me to the stadium

   he chauffeurs for the Duke

Other Word Forms

• chauffeuse noun
• unchauffeured adjective
• well-chauffeured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chauffeur¹

1895–1900; < French, equivalent to chauff(er ) to heat ( chafe ) + -eur -eur

Word History and Origins

Origin of chauffeur¹

C20: from French, literally: stoker, from chauffer to heat

Example Sentences

Stephen, who was 75 at the time, was chauffeuring his Toyota Camry for his older brother Richard, then 76, taking him around town on a visit from Minnesota.

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During a chance encounter chauffeuring François Truffaut around, the master auteur told the desperate factotum that he had an eye for directing.

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Although my memory is hazy, I recall my toddler’s delight: a car could think, move and communicate like a real person, even chauffeuring the romantic leads to their honeymoon.

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Maybe next Cannes, he’ll be the one getting fêted and chauffeured.

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To Los Angeles City Council members searching desperately for cuts amid a budget crisis, the Fire Department’s emergency incident technicians are “drivers” whose main role is chauffeuring battalion chiefs to emergencies.

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